by Ainsley Shay
I dug my phone out of my bag. It only had seven percent, but that was enough to call Macias and ask if he was all right. I thought about texting, but the task of going back and forth seemed too daunting.
As I pressed the call button, I almost chickened out. He had a spell put on him because of me.
He picked up on the second ring.
“Hello, Everly.”
I cleared the gulp of air in my throat. “Hi.”
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
I thought about easing into the bad part, maybe asking about my aunt, what the next topics for church would be. But decided against it.
“What did Elyza’s sister do to you?”
The phone crackled in my ear as if it had fallen.
“How did you know?” he asked.
“Elyza told me today.”
“She was telling you to be cruel. To force you to do something against your will.”
With all the pain radiating in his voice, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know anymore. But I found the courage to ask him again, “What spell did she curse you with?”
He answered hesitatingly, “Before the next full moon, my skin will begin to rot, layer by layer.”
Bile rose in my throat. I had done this. It was all my fault. “There has to be a cure,” I blurted out.
He took a moment, letting out a breath. “Ember is the witch of spells. They are usually unbreakable.”
“How can it be unbreakable? Doesn’t the one who places the spell have a counter-spell or something? That’s the way it is in fairy tales.” My voice was consumed with hysteria.
“This isn’t a fairy tale, Everly.”
I knew that. I did. But with all the newfound magic and supernatural abilities I’d experienced and surrounding me, I had nothing to compare it to except my fictional worlds. And they always had happy endings.
Hope. I still had the hope of the bracelet.
“I have the bracelet; I told her I’d put it back on if she removed the curse.”
He coughed. “I thought you said—”
“I know. And I did toss it over the bluff. But the other day, it was in a package on my doorstep. I don’t know how or who put it there, but it somehow made its way back to me. That has to mean something, right?”
“It won’t matter.” His voice was dry and lacked any emotion. “I’m already a dead man.”
The line went as dead as his words.
Every echo of sorrow burrowed inside me turned to ash, leaving the taste of guilt and anger to rot away any and all hope I had.
I threw the bracelet against the wall. The glass bead shattered into a million shards. A thin stream of essence floated up from the floor, catching on the air conditioner breeze coming out of the vent.
Using all the will I could find, I swirled the air around the silver thread. It was caught in a cyclone I wasn’t sure what to do with. Without taking my full attention away from the funnel, I searched for something—anything—to put it in.
My key chain, a jade heart stone, sat on the nightstand.
“Okay, here goes nothing.”
Closing my eyes, I envisioned the essence floating across the room and finding its new home in the jade heart. When I opened my eyes, the silver thread was flowing into the stone.
The funnel drifted apart, and the air settled.
I picked up the key chain.
My new phrase of amazement fell out of my mouth. “Oh shit.”
27
Sleep did not come easily.
In fact, it never came. At least, not that I remember.
My aunt came home around three in the morning. The tears started again. I cried as quietly as I could, so she wouldn’t hear me. The last thing I felt like explaining was how I’d been the one who killed the man she was falling for in the most horrific way.
Four hours later, my alarm went off. I must have dozed off at some point, because there was a large spot of drool on my pillow.
The shop wasn’t supposed to open for another three hours. Trying to think of something to do until then hurt my brain. If I got there early, I could get a jump-start on my homework.
I rolled out of bed. My key chain on the nightstand caught my eye. I picked it up, then held it up to the light. The jade heart glistened with the essence floating inside. It was beautiful.
“What do I do with you now?”
It was going to be a day of rain—on the ocean side of Blood Bird’s Way.
I was sure I looked like one of those people I used to make fun of when I had a car; the guy on the scooter, driving on the farthest edge of the lane without running off the road with a poncho on. No matter what shit was going down, at least I could still laugh at myself.
The scooter buzzed along the main road. I turned off onto Carousel Lane. A mob of people were standing with picket signs in the center of the courtyard. A man outside Dude’s Diner said he heard the sheriff was on his way to break them up.
I turned off the scooter, then walked the scooter around the picketers. I almost dropped the motorbike when I read their homemade signs. GET THE EVIL OUT OF VEIL ROCK. THE END OF THE WORLD IS HERE. THE DEVIL HAS DESTROYED OUR TOWN. MAGIC IS THE DEVIL’S HAND.
“What the hell was going on?” I muttered.
I made my way around the carousel to the shop, then parked the scooter on the side as usual. As I unlocked the door, the picketers were all facing in my direction.
“Magic is the cause of all destruction!” one woman called out.
After I hurried inside the shop, I locked the door. Hoping the sheriff would come soon, I went to make some tea. I was sure Isla would be fine with me keeping the door locked all day, so I wasn’t going to hesitate.
Something smashed against the glass window. Boone screeched, flying around the store until he settled on a branch near the counter. I jerked my head around. The insane woman who’d yelled across the courtyard rushed the window again like a crazed and hungry zombie. Just before she hit the glass, a man in uniform grabbed her and hauled her back.
The air caught in my lungs came out in quick release. “It’s okay, Boone,” I said more to settle my nerves than the bird’s. I reached under the counter, got a bird biscuit I’d seen Isla give him occasionally, and then I held it up to him. The bird leaned down, grabbing it with his beak.
A knock on the door startled me. I glanced up to see a policeman at the window. After another harsh exhale, I unlocked and opened the door.
“Are you all right, ma’am?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just shaken a little.”
“To be expected.” He started to walk away.
“What was that all about?”
He paused with his hand on his belt. “They’re from the religious group that believes everyone who believes in anything other than their God is going to hell. So if you ever watched a vampire movie or read a book about wizards and had even the slightest hope it was real, you’re going to hell.”
“Jes—” I cut the word in half before it came completely out. “That’s extreme.”
“They come out during the half-moon cycle. They say that’s when you either choose darkness or light.”
I saw a small amount of logic in that train of thought, but it did nothing for the overall insanity of it all.
He handed me his card. “If you have any more issues, let me know.”
After three hours of homework, I swept the floor. As much as I loved the living tree in the shop, the leaves, at times, were a nuisance. The lock on the door clicked, and Boone hooted.
“Why is the shop closed at two in the afternoon?” Cameron asked.
His hair matched his unruly tone.
“Because earlier, I was fearing for my life.”
He tossed his book bag behind the counter. “That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
I gave him a smart-ass smile. “Why don’t you ask the cop how dramatic it was as he pulled a freaking crazy lady off the shop’s front window.”
“Are you seri
ous?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “As serious as magic.”
His eyes lifted to meet mine. “Are you trying to push the magic thing on me?”
“I would never.” I glanced at my key chain hanging out of my bag under the counter. Real magic swirled in the jade stone.
Cameron and I spoke some during the next several hours before we closed. But the conversation was short and emotionless. I caught him staring at me a couple of times. As I glanced at him, I wondered what he thought of me. That I was some witchy girl like all the crap Hartley was saying about me? Well, they weren’t all lies.
A few customers came in search of special candle scents or precious stones they hoped would bring them the love, luck, or money they needed. As the time passed five o’clock, the shop was packed with people. Their voices carried, and I heard talk of the morning’s events with the religious cult. So, the ones who believed in the workings of magic were buying up protection stones, beaded necklaces, and voodoo dolls. Isla would be thrilled with the sales.
It was dark when we closed the shop. Cameron had waited for me as I counted out the cash drawer and did the daily paperwork. He locked up and we said our goodbyes as he escorted me to my scooter.
“Thanks, I got it from here.”
“You sure? It’s starting to rain. It’s no big deal to give you a ride home.”
I smiled. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” I held up the bright-colored poncho.
Cameron turned the corner and out of sight. The lights around Carousel blinked out. I was shrouded in darkness. After I plugged the key into the ignition, I started the motor. The headlight flickered on, giving me a little bit of light. I had just picked up my helmet when a gust a wind rushed over my back.
When I turned around, something moved as fast as lightning behind me. I dropped my helmet as a hand grabbed me around the neck. Then, I was slammed into the wall. I waited for others to join my attacker, sure they were part of the cult from earlier.
My fear escalated as the face of my attacker came into view. Kelios’ hand tightened around my throat.
“You had one job. One simple job—stay out of the way. And you couldn’t even do that.”
“I was just—”
“Not listening. Onyx told me you were snooping around, asking about things that you have no right to know. Do you need to be reminded that you are not part of our world?” She lifted me higher. “This is your final warning. Stay out of this. You don’t need to know anything else. When and if we’re ready, we will come for you. That’s all you need to know.”
The tips of my sneakers were barely touching the ground. She was so much stronger than I was. It was frustrating to feel so helpless. I held her wrist and arm with both of mine, but it didn’t move. The amount of air I was able to breathe in was minuscule to what my lungs desperately craved.
If I tried to talk my way out of this, my words would only come out as a croak.
“You know… I haven’t eaten tonight,” she cooed in my ear. Her breath was like cinnamon, hot and rich.
I refused to die like this, killed by a vampire. Hell, it wasn’t even a hot one. Closing my eyes, I focused. The scooter’s engine hummed in the background. The wind whipped around the drops of rain until they were swirling in a tornado. I felt the energy of the elements surround me. The tornado grew. Kelios grasped my neck tighter, then pulled back and slammed me into the side of the building again. The little air I had whooshed out of my lungs. I gasped for breath, but it was no use.
Kelios must have felt the magic, too. “Look at what you can do, little girl.” Then, she kicked out to the side. Her foot collided with the tunnel of rain and wind. As if it were a fan blowing confetti, the tornado broke apart. Rain scattered and fell uselessly to the ground, and the wind ceased.
“Your gifts are still in the fetus stage, girl. Useless.”
Even in the dark, I could see her fangs. They were white and as sharp as daggers.
I heard myself whimpering, and I hated I was so weak against her.
“Our world isn’t for you,” she hissed as she lowered her mouth to my throat.
God, if only I would have listened to those exact words when the preacher said them to me weeks ago, I wouldn’t be getting ready to be vamp food.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Flurries of flames danced behind my eyelids as her teeth sank into my neck. I tried to call out, but my words were strangled. Warmth oozed down my throat, mixing with the cold drops of rain. With each draw of my blood she took, the feeling of lightheadedness engulfed me until I was floating into the next life.
“Put her down, Kelios.”
The voice was faint in my haze to see or hear anything. It could have been my imagination, but with every cell of my being, I hoped not.
Kelios’ grip loosened slightly from around my neck. I gasped for air.
“Why should I? If you knew what this little bit—”
The voice was closer when it spoke again. “She may be the one we need to remain immortal for two hundred or three hundred years more, not the mere seventy as usual.”
Kelios groaned neared my ear.
“That’s an awfully expensive sacrifice. Don’t you think?” he asked.
Kelios let me go completely. I dropped to the ground like a bag of rocks.
“She knows too much, Raiden,” she said.
“Come on, we need to get out of Veil Rock before the other White Ones come,” he said.
“No! Tell me they’re not all coming here?” Kelios protested.
“They’re on their way. Come on, we’ll come back when we can. We don’t have a choice; we have to.”
A boot stepped close to my face. Someone knelt next to me, gathered a handful of my hair, and yanked my head upward. Kelios was inches away from me. “Don’t do anything stupid while we’re gone. The payback won’t be as nice as it was tonight.”
When she let go of my hair, my head smacked the ground and I heard them shuffle away. I touched my neck, feeling the wetness and stickiness of my blood. The rain fell on my face, drop after drop. I was sure I was dead. I had to be.
I wanted to be.
“Everly! Everly!”
In my dream, someone called out my name and tapped my cheek.
“Come on, Everly. Don’t be dead!”
Dead?
Opening my eyes was like lifting a hundred-pound weight with my big toe. I focused on the figure looming over me. Cameron’s light eyes were wild with concern.
I tried to reach up and touch him, but he pushed my hand down.
“Don’t try to move.”
I took the deepest breath I could. It only half satisfied my lungs, so I tried again. “Cam, what are you doing here?”
He pulled me into his arms. “I was waiting for you to come zooming around the corner, but you didn’t. So I came back to check on you.”
I pressed my fingers to my throat.
“Oh my God, you’re bleeding!”
He started to pull out his phone. “No,” I rasped. “Don’t.”
“But—”
“Take me to the preacher.”
“Ev, I don’t think now’s the time for—”
I placed my hand on his arm. “Please.”
“Okay! Okay!”
Cameron picked me up in his arms, then started hurrying for the front of the building.
“I need my keys,” I croaked. “They’re in the scooter.”
“We can get those—”
“Now. I need them now,” I begged.
Reluctantly, he walked back into the side alley and grabbed the key out of the ignition. With every muscle I could find that worked, I raised my hand. Understanding, he set the keys in my hand. I clenched my fist around them. The magic pulsed against my palm.
“Thank you.”
The car ride to the church was jerky and fast. Cameron left me in the car while he went to get Macias. My neck ached as I tried to roll it around to loosen the tension. But it wasn’t tension; it was the pain from a set
of penetrating fangs that had tried to drink me dry. There was no amount of aspirin that could relieve the headache I had.
The passenger door opened. I leaned to the side, and a pair of hands caught me before I fell out of the car.
“Everly! What the hell happened?”
Before I looked at the preacher, I braced myself, expecting to see his face half missing, bone protruding through the raw, unhealable patches of flesh. Opening my eyes, I scanned his face. It was as pleasant to look at as it had always been. “Your face looks nice,” I said.
“For now. Thank you.” He started to help me out of the car. “Now let’s get you cleaned up.”
“Macias?”
He slowed his movements. “Yeah?”
“Don’t tell my aunt I’m here.”
“I won’t.”
I half smiled. “Macias?”
“Yeah?” he said again.
“Did Elyza have the spell broken?”
His head fell to his chest. “She never planned to. It’s the way the White Ones are, vengeful and fearful of the unknown.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Regret and guilt swarmed my insides like lotus. “It’s all my fault.”
He leaned into the car to help.
“And I bet that’s why the other White Ones are coming—because of me.”
He stiffened. “When?”
“I don’t know, but the supernaturals are leaving town for now. I guess they don’t like them.”
“They despise each other. It’s always been that way. But they are also a bit afraid of the White Ones.”
Exhaustion was sweeping over my entire body, and I wanted to sleep. My arm fell, and there was a tiny clanking noise. I remembered the key chain, holding it out to him. He took it.
“Hold it up to the light,” I rasped.
He did. “What is that?”
Coughing, I sputtered blood. “Protection, for you. I put the magic from the bracelet in there. Maybe it’ll help you.”
